


family

by mossysnakes



Series: this time next year [3]
Category: ParaNorman (2012)
Genre: Angst, Coming Out to Parents, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 20:47:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/601917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mossysnakes/pseuds/mossysnakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Norman knew that things couldn't turn out well - at least, not as well as Neil was making them out to - but they felt the same about one thing: it was now or never.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. hot chocolate

Norman taps the toe of his shoe against the doorstep nervously, looking at the lights bleeding out from inside his house, feeling the little bit of warmth he may have been keeping within his scarf and sweater bleed out in much the same way. He hears the car door shut and listens as Neil walks up the pathway from behind, and even though he's expecting the hand on his shoulder, he jumps a little when it lands. It's warm, and the voice beside his ear is warmer, and leaves condensation. "Don't worry about it, Norman. It's sorta scary, but, hey, we've done it before." Norman breathes out a high, apprehensive sigh, and leans into Neil's hand.

"Easy for you to say; you waited for all of forty seconds after we got to your house to tell your mom about us, and she practically already knew, and hugged us afterward and pinched our cheeks and everything. My parents haven't been tempered to the idea by having an elder son and his boyfriend in the house."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure we'll grow on them." Neil sees that this pre-dinner-discussion hasn't convinced Norman in the slightest, and he smiles at his boyfriend despite himself. "Hey, come on; let's just get it over with. No reason to drag out all of this worrying, right?" He kisses his cheek, and Norman's face heats up blessedly, and he leans further to the right so that his body fits beside Neil's, and they share the heat.

"Yeah, let's go."

~

Courtney greets them first, and doesn't bother to screen the amusement from her face when they come in looking a little too rosy for however cold the weather is. The table's mostly set and Sandra comes in with a last dish, and smiles at the boys. "Oh, hello, you two. You can sit down, we're ready to eat." Everybody's sitting and itching to get at the hot food when Perry comes in casually, as if he hadn't been listening earlier when Norman had asked to make sure that he was home that night, and that Neil was having dinner with them, and that he wanted him to be there.

"Hey, dad," Norman says in his soft voice, smiling a little. It makes Neil smile and feel like he can look at his father too, so he does. Perry looks at Norman, then Neil, and nods, and finally says;

"Hey kid. Hey, Neil."

"Good evening, Mr. Babcock."

"Hey, hey," Perry's voice is strong, and Norman is so on edge that his body seizes, automatically filing the temperament as directed towards him; but he quickly realizes how foolish that is of himself and tries to will himself calm, "I don't wanna hear any of that formal business from you, kid. Let's see here - every fiftieth time someone eats at our house, they become an official part of the family. You've probably eaten here about a hundred times, so, technically, you're family." Neil allows himself a chuckle, which Perry returns with gusto; Sandra pats her husband's arm, and Norman smiles. Maybe tonight would go well after all.

The meal passes pleasantly and everybody is happy to say that they actually enjoyed the food. They're mostly through desert when the conversation lags, and Norman sneaks a look at Neil, who looks at him easily and smiles, and so he decides it's time to speak up. "Uh, so...mom, dad, there's something I wanna tell you. Something me and...Neil want to tell you, actually." The table quiets and everybody looks at Norman, but Neil quickly diverts his gaze to Courtney instead, who is in turn looking at the both of them with a knowing smirk. Perry raises his eyebrows, looks at his wife, and leans back in his chair, arms crossing over his ballooning belly. The way he's looking at Norman gives the boy a bad feeling, and he looks at Neil again for support, and gets it in a big smile; Neil's smiles always make Norman feel better. "Okay, well, uh, what it is is...is that we're..." he takes a breath, lets it out, "we're...together. You know. A couple." Neil gives it a moment and then;

"Yep, that's right. We're boyfrans." The way he says it makes Norman want to laugh, but his eyes and feelings are fixed on his father, who's looking down ahead of himself, eyebrows setting, eyes hard to see. His mother notices and is the first to speak, and Norman knows the happiness in her voice is genuine;

"Oh honey, that's so nice! I'm glad for you two."

"Thanks mom," Norman's voice is small, but genuine in turn. They wait for Perry to say something, but his head is still lowered and he doesn't speak. Courtney tries to choke the growing tension;

"Yeah, yeah it's great isn't it? They're so cute together," and she puts her hand on Norman's shoulder and smiles at him calmly, knowing how many thoughts must be going through his head. "You know I kinda always wondered, since Mitch is gay and all - not that it's some, like, genetically inherited gene or anything, but like, I just thought that it wouldn't be weird for either of you to be gay, you know? And like I know Mitch has just been waiting for the day he could take you guys on double dates and stuff, and now since the cat's out of the bag..." Her banter dies out when Norman's face freezes, and she looks to see that her father is looking at Norman now, his eyes dark and his face straight. After a moment of silence that feels like an hour, he speaks.

"I don't know why I was expecting you to be normal when it came to this sort of thing. You'd think that after all the shit you've pulled on us I'd have learned better long ago. And maybe I did know, but I just didn't want to accept it, so I ignored it. Even as I watched you two get closer, I ignored it, because I didn't want to see that happen; no way would I see that happen."

He's getting upset now, so Sandra says imploringly, "Perry, honey...there's no reason to be upset at Norman for this--"

He takes a moment to growl, "You be quiet," but doesn't continue, even as he stands and leans over on the table, looking straight at Norman. Norman feels his skin grow cold, and Courtney's hand is tight on his shoulder. "You want to take your weirdness to the next level, fine; but do it somewhere else." All Norman can see is how dark his eyes are, and if Courtney weren't holding onto him so presently, then he wouldn'tve been able to keep his tears in. He'd known this would happen, but Neil's enthusiasm had gotten him to hope for the best, and now - now it was all crumbling down around him. His father stands up straight, looms over the room for a moment in silence, and when nobody moves or speaks, he snaps, "Get out, both of you, get out of here." Norman voices his distress at the end of a breath, and Courtney and his mother step up and start speaking against Perry, but Perry pays no attention to them, and keeps his eyes on Norman, who's now fighting against his heating face and watering eyes and time. Perry pushes past the others and Norman can't move, and then Neil is in front of him - between them - and his father's gaze is finally fixed on something else. "You, get out of here. You're not welcome here anymore. You get anything you have here, and you leave, and you never come back." He shoves Neil aside and Norman steps back unconsciously. "And you - either you stay here, or you go with him - that's your choice. That's the choice you've set yourself up for - you leave and you don't come back, or you stay and you and he -" he gestures flippantly, "don't see each other anymore." Norman looks him in the eyes and sees that his gaze isn't steady, like he himself can't believe what he's saying. Norman knows what his answer is immediately, but his throat is tight and sore and he tries to push his feelings down first, so that he can speak clearly.

"All right," his voice is wet, but it doesn't crack, and he can keep his face from crumbling even as he looks over at his mother, who is looking at him in open horror. "Bye, mom. I'll talk to you later." Norman turns around, takes Neil's hand, and walks out the door.

~

The ride over is quiet, and Neil is in a state of shock all the way, not sure what to say or do or think. He doesn't know whether Norman is angry at him, whether it would be okay to try and comfort him or touch him, or talk at all. He doesn't know if he has anything to say that could make him feel better. When they get to Neil's house, they walk up to the doorstep, and then Norman stops, and Neil doesn't waste a moment in hugging him, and when Norman's arms wrap around him he hugs him properly, as tightly as he can without making it difficult for Norman to breathe. Even after they've been hugging long enough to be considered more than a hug, Norman doesn't try to move away, or tense up to communicate that he's done hugging; his hold on Neil never lessens, and so Neil's doesn't either, and it's so nice to be in each other's warmth on a winter's night. "Norman, I'm so sorry," Neil says softly into his neck. Norman holds him tighter, and shakes his head a little, and doesn't make a sound.

They've been on the doorstep for fifteen minutes before they finally pull apart, and they look at each other, even though it's too dark to see, and Neil opens the door and a wave of heat greets them. For some reason, the face of Neil's mother is the trigger that sends Norman into a fit of wet sobs, and she holds him and hushes him and sits with him on the couch, holding him until his chest stops heaving and he's breathing evenly. Neil is sitting beside him and puts an arm around him and leans his chin on his shoulder and listens as his mother asks what happened, and as Norman tells her. She listens, and when he's done she stands and asks if they want hot cocoa, and Norman responds with a 'yes, please' that brings her back down to kiss his forehead, and Neil's cheek, before she heads to the kitchen. After a moment, Norman twists himself around so that he's curled up to Neil, and Neil wipes tears off of his face, and kisses him sweetly, and Norman kisses him back and grabs onto his shirt and settles himself as closely as he can to the other boy.

The rest of the night is spent drinking hot cocoa and watching Norman's favourite zombie movies.

~


	2. dinner

Norman stays with the Downes for three weeks before his mother arrives at their house late one afternoon. It takes barely a moment for Norman to notice and run out to meet her, and they hug, and his mother tears up a little, and Neil watches from the doorstep. "Honey, I think your father is ready to...to talk. And I think it's important that you do."

"What?" Norman's happiness melts away and is replaced by ice, and then by the beginnings of a fire. Sandra looks like she thinks this is a good thing, like she's been waiting for her husband to admit that he did something wrong and now that he has, things will go back to how they were, more or less. Norman does not feel the same way at all. "He...he's ready to talk to me? He's ready to talk to me? Okay so - so kicking me out of the house was just so he could, what, have a private cool-off period, and now he's - ready to accept me back into the family? What is that? And you agree with him?" His voice falters at the end. He's too afraid of the idea to stay angry very long.

"Norman," she says imploringly, holding onto his shoulder, "I just want my son back. My son who's still in high school, who's not old enough to be separated from his family...your father just wants to talk. So just...talk."

Norman agrees to go with her back to the house, and Neil tells him he'll be by in an hour to pick him up.

~

His father is sitting in the livingroom, and his grandmother isn't. Perry doesn't look up immediately when they come inside; not until after the door is shut and Norman is starting to inch toward the room. He pauses automatically at his father's sharp, unreadable gaze, but recovers quickly enough that the man mayn't have noticed, and he walks up to the line of the television, feeling his father's authority strongly and not wanting to go any further without permission. Perry's face relaxes so that he can gesture toward the empty spot on the sofa beside him, and Norman wants to turn around and go back home to Neil rather than sit there with him, but he walks forward, and keeps his eyes away from his father's as he sits. He only looks up to see his mother standing at the wall, looking somewhat anxious, but encouraging as well. When his father speaks his voice is loud and permeates Norman's ears and thoughts. "Sandra, would you leave us to talk alone for a while, please?" She nods and leaves, and Norman is suddenly, utterly without support, and has nothing to focus on but his father's heady presence; the way the sofa moves every time he breathes, how he can hear every sound he's making, how he can see every hair of his beard. He says nothing for some ten minutes which makes everything worse, and Norman is soon contemplating starting the conversation himself, even though he has no idea what the conversation is supposed to be, let alone how to start it. When his father finally does speak, he jumps not unnoticabley.

"How've you been, son?" He hasn't got an answer for the question, and has to think a while about what's right to say.

"All right," is what those right things are replaced with.

"All right? That's it, all right? You mean you haven't been having the time of your life living with your - your friend Neil?" Norman picks up from the tightness of the spoken word that things are far from okay with his father - he can't even say 'boyfriend'. He doesn't have an answer, either, so things are quiet for another few minutes, and the air gets thicker, and his heart starts to beat quicker. "I guess you're not going to say anything, huh." Perry gives a great sigh, lets the silence linger, prepares himself for another pointless sentence; but in a surprising move, Norman speaks first.

"They like having me there, and I like being there, if that's what you were getting at."

"Yeah? Are you as fresh with them as you're being with me right now?" Norman is starkly reminded that he's just a seventeen-year-old in his father's eyes.

"I'm not being fresh, I'm just trying to get this over with, and that means ignoring your beating around the bush and diving into the conversation instead of playing along." He immediately cringes, and looks at his father, fully expecting his eyes to light up and his face to stretch to make room for his offense - but instead, he looks almost practically a little bit regretful for a split half of a second, before he sets his face into a neutral cast, and Norman is surprised enough not to notice how much time goes by before his father speaks up again.

"I'm sorry, Norman." That is enough to make Norman look at his father dramatically enough that he notices, and looks a little flustered, and turns his face straight ahead and ignores Norman's stare. Norman can hardly believe what his father's just said - almost wants to ask, 'what?', get confirmation - but he soaks it in in silence instead. "I - I know it was wrong to kick you out of the house, and I'm sorry. I got way too upset. I should have left and allowed myself to cool down, and then talked with you after I had. I..." he sighs, a little bit frustrated, "I want you and Neil to come over and...and we can...well, I can...I dunno. We can have dinner." His father clams up after that, but the words are enough to make Norman's heart rise beautifully, and though he still has his time-grown doubts about what his father means to happen, he's invited Neil over for dinner and that means he's not completely against the two of them being together. "And...I want you to come back home. You shouldn't be imposing yourself on their family like that." Norman's heart is a bit dampened by the wording, but he chooses not to think about it so much right now, and lets himself be excited about what may possibly be the beginning of acceptance on his father's part.

"Y...yeah. All right." His father looks at him, and gives a small smile.

"All right."

~

When Neil pulls up, he doesn't go any further than to stand outside of the passenger side door, which is on the side of Norman's house - Norman smiles thinking about how he might explain that it would make a quick escape more effective - and he keeps smiling as he walks out casually to meet him, and sees Neil's face go through many emotions before he's close enough for him to ask, "What happened? You okay? You seem pretty okay." Norman lowers his face and feels an incredible surge of happiness inside of him.

"Yeah, I'm pretty okay - do - do you wanna stay for dinner tonight? Maybe? My...my dad's invited us."

"He - wha?" Neil's face makes Norman even happier - he's confused, shocked even, and Norman nods.

"Yeah, since, you know, he wanted to talk, well - well, I think he might - be - okay. With us."

"Whaaat? Are you serious? Just...just like that?"

"Well, he'll have to have time to get used to it, and we should be careful, but - y-yeah. I mean, you know. Dinner."

"Dinner." Neil's shock melts into a smile, and the two of them feel like a boundless hug would be the most wonderful thing in that moment, but they both also feel reserved on account of being on Babcock property. But then Neil laughs, and Norman laughs, and Neil keeps laughing and they're both laughing, and Neil can't keep himself from hugging Norman, and it's completely okay, and Norman couldn't be happier. And sooner than later there's a sudden squeal from behind and another pair of arms are wrapped around them, and the strong scent of his sister brings him a joy he never thought he could get from excessively-used perfume.

"Oh my God, Norman, you're here, you're home! Ohhhh I missed you so much! Agh!"

"Ah! Courtney!" Neil loosens his hold a little so that Norman can turn and hug Courtney back. She keeps talking about how much she's missed him, how glad she is that he's there. And then she turns on Neil and gives him much the same treatment, only adding, "I hope things have been okay over there, I haven't been able to be over because of all this, oh my God! How's Mitch? How are you guys?"

"Well actually, now that you bring it up, him and Trent are about ready to come out with pitchforks and throw you down a well or something - they really want you to come over before the break's over. Mitch said just yesterday that he wishes you'd just move in with us for the break, too, and then we could all be together the whole time." Courtney says in words almost too fast for Norman to interpret that she promises she's going to come over "like tomorrow at the latest, unless you two are going back home tonight, I don't really know what's going on around here yet, but now that I know it's safe to go - aghh! I might just spend the weekend over there." There's a lot more banter before anybody thinks to go inside, and there's some tension as Neil doesn't know what to expect, but Norman squeezes his hand prior to beginning the walk, and he follows. 

Food's already cooking and Perry is sitting at the table holding a newspaper open, and Norman feels a sudden wave of nostalgia - something he didn't think he had in this house. He and Neil look at each other once more before going in with Courtney, who's practically shimmering with contentment, and easily starts a conversation with her parents. Perry's attention soon goes to the boys in the doorway, however, and after a moment of looking the two of them over with unreadable eyes, he nods his head at Neil, who breathes in a little too loudly before nodding stiffly back. "Good to have you two back. I'll be the first to admit that I missed you." Wow, his father is practically causing a revolution with all of the out-of-character things he's saying today - but maybe it's just a sign that he's really working hard to make things better. Norman's glad about it either way, and does his best to push aside his doubts and at least enjoy it while it lasts.

"I - thank you, Mr--um - I mean -"

"Mr. B. You can call me Mr. B." Neil takes a moment longer to be flustered before relaxing considerably.

"All right, Mr. B. Thanks, Mr. B."

Courtney comes to them after dinner to make some formal complaints.  
"You guys haven't been acting like boyfriends, or even best friends - you used to be all over each other even before you announced it to everybody. What kind of relationship flaunting is that? Go on, hold hands or something, or they'll think it was all a dream."

"Courtney, I can't just - what if - I mean, we're still not sure where he stands on this. What if he gets angry again?"

Courtney scoffs loud enough for everybody to hear, and then says, to Norman's face but also for everybody to hear, "He won't be angry. He knows exactly what he's getting into if he's asking you guys to come eat dinner with us, and watch a movie all together as a family...he knows you're boyfriends. So, be boyfriends." After purposefully avoiding people's eyes out of anxious embarrassment, Norman looks at his father, and Norman catches him looking away in the same moment - but he doesn't look angry, just, sort of uncomfortable.

"I just think that...we should take this slowly. Really slowly," his voice is low so that nobody else can hear, "I don't want things to go downhill from here. This is supposed to be a good thing, you know?" Courtney sighs, Neil squeezes his shoulder, and there's a silent agreement. They'll take things slow. Courtney's in on this because otherwise she'd be making lewd comments whenever she saw them doing anything beyond a kiss on the cheek, or going to Norman's room, or...anything like that. Not that they'd be going to Norman's room possibly ever again - it was too nerve-wracking.

Presently, Mr. Babcock calls the kids to the livingroom, where he tells them to sit down because they're going to watch a movie, and everybody gathers around and settles themselves in.

About half an hour in, amidst the screams coming from the television, Norman's fingers pull themselves forward and reach Neil's, and pad over them lightly until they respond and begin to twist themselves and touch back, and both sets work, albeit slowly, to fit together perfectly, and after this is accomplished, their attentions affix and remain focused solely on the movie.

~


	3. orange juice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neil and Norman get a bit frisky here, watch out.

When the movie's over and everybody's feeling abnormally tired and they all stand up to continue with their lives, Norman tells his father outright that he'd like to go to the Downe's for the night, and that he'll get his things together, and come back tomorrow, maybe later in the day, but in time for dinner. Perry looks uncomfortable again, as though he hasn't thought at all about the fact that Norman's been staying with them until now, but agrees, and says goodnight and to - reluctantly, almost, once he realizes what he's saying - be safe. Courtney goes with them, and the three of them have a good laugh after the car doors are shut. Mitch and Trent are on the couch half watching a movie and half looking at each other and mumbling things, but when they see Courtney things get very loud very fast. Neil grabs Norman's hand in the rush of bodies and sneaks him down the hall, pushes him against the wall, and kisses him with an unexpected passion that gives Norman a rush of adrenaline. Neil stops the kiss after a while and says without hesitation, "I love you." Norman takes his face in-hand and kisses him, and looks at him, and then kisses him again, and then responds with an;

"I love you too." Neil holds Norman's waist and kisses him once more, and then Norman wraps his arms around his neck, and things are quiet in the livingroom and Neil looks to see all three adults looking at them with similarly touched faces.

"Oh my God, you two are like, way too cute. Gah, I want to squish you. But I'll let you do that to each other." Courtney pushes the boys back into the livingroom, keeping her eyes on the younger ones for as long as she can, stretching her neck out behind her body before finally disappearing. Neil takes Norman's hand again and continues leading to his bedroom.

~

"Neil, um...I don't...know...what..." he looks imploring, but in the sweetest way possible, and with his glasses askew as they are, Neil can't keep himself smiling, and warmth bubbles in his chest as he does.

"You want me to do something?" Norman can't respond to that, so Neil says instead, "Let me do something." He reaches slowly, purposefully, for Norman's glasses, and takes them off, and sets them on the sidetable, and kisses Norman onto the bed. His kisses are slow and thoughtful and all he does otherwise is slide his thumb over Norman's shoulder. "Can I undress you? I mean, do you wanna keep your clothes on? It's fine if you do." Norman is genuinely conflicted about this, Neil can tell - and in the back of his mind he thinks that it seems that every moment is one he wants to treasure. He does want to remember just how cute Norman is being during their first supposed-to-be-eventually-sexual encounter.

"I...I...don't..." he pauses, so Neil puts in softly;

"I'll start and if you feel uncomfortable, you can always put them back on?" Norman nods his head immediately, so Neil wastes no time in kissing him again, and this time his hands move, pull at fabric, slip beneath and glide over the skin and feel the muscle and fat and bone on his boyfriend's body. He unzips his jacket first, and Norman sits up and shrugs it off to the side himself, and Neil places his hands over Norman's hips, and they nearly cover the entirety of them. They slide up his torso, then back down, and back up, and after those few times they take his shirt up with them, and he pushes it up as far as it will go and then takes his time sliding his hands back down again. Norman arches along with them accordingly, and holds onto Neil's shoulders and watches him with a look that seems worried - but Neil can see his eyes and knows that things are going well so far, and that if he doesn't like something, he'll say so, and it will be fixed, and things will continue to go well. Norman's skin is incredibly warm, and for however long Neil's touching it, he doesn't lose interest in it in the slightest, and he thinks vaguely that there may end up being slightly more of a reminder on Norman's body of whatever is going to happen than on his. He gives Norman a few last kisses before beginning to demonstrate just how this will come to be, pushing him back down and kissing his chest, and stomach, and belly, and Norman voices his feelings softly as he goes over the areas with the thinnest skin, where the nerves are millimeters from the outside world, and his hold on Neil's shoulders tightens. Neil looks up at him, restraining himself from giving one last kiss before asking, "That okay?" Norman nods, slightly flustered, and this time Neil smiles at him and kisses his belly while their eyes are still locked, and Norman just looks bewildered and uncertain and yet completely pleased.

They get Norman's shirt off and Neil begins to admire his shoulders and collarbone and neck, and doesn't mind his teeth and finds that Norman doesn't either - and soon he feels slim fingers tugging up his own shirt, laying themselves palm-flat against his torso and just feeling him, and it's the most wonderful thing he's ever felt physically himself. He takes a moment to be awed that this is actually happening, it's not a dream or a daydream or a passing thought. Then he catches Norman's eyes, and smiles at him, and keeps looking at him as Norman's fingers travel carefully about and eventually pull his sweater up, and when the sweater has been shaken to the side, he looks to see that the hint of fear that had still been in his eyes is snuffed out. He decides it's time to get really touchy. Norman's eyes widen accordingly when his hand moves over the crotch of his jeans, and the fear almost returns, but Neil's other hand is squeezing his arm and rubbing it assuringly, and he soon relaxes considerably on the bed. "Just remember," Neil says into Norman's neck, "you don't have to do anything. It's just you tonight. All right?" Neil's fingers feel through the fabric and grasp the form underneath, and Norman makes the smallest of noises, and when he speaks, his words are mostly a whisper;

"A-All right. Okay."

They stay up and watch some of the participants of a late-night movie marathon, and Norman keeps as much of his body touching Neil's as is possible, and holds onto his shirt like a life vest, and Neil doesn't move away from him, and doesn't want to, and doesn't think he could anyway.

~

When Norman wakes up, he's warm and surrounded by the comfortable firmness of Neil's body and Neil's arms, and he lays inside of them for a long time before turning to check the time. He sighs at the '7:24' on the sidetable, knowing he's over-rested and therefore unable to go back to sleep. When he does slip out of the bed with Neil nonethewiser, he just starts packing up his things, and cleans Neil's room up a little, and sneaks down the hallway until he's sure that nobody else is awake, and has some toast, and stays in there until somebody does wake up. It's Mitch, and since Norman's been living there for a good amount of time he doesn't feel too imposing, but the way Mitch looks at him makes him think twice about whether he is. "Hey Norman. Kinda early for you to be up on a Saturday." He takes out the orange juice and starts smiling, and then continues, "Not after what you and Neil got up to last night."

Well, if anything would have caused Norman's throat to seize up and induce a coughing fit in order to dislodge the piece of toast stuck there, it's what Mitch has just said. When he's done coughing and has wiped his eyes and gathered his dignity, he says clearly, "We didn't 'get up to' anything, Mitch. Why would you say that all of a sudden?"

"Uh, because you did," he pours his glass, "you want some?" Norman shakes his head. "Just because you're behind closed doors doesn't mean you can't be heard."

"But - but--"

"What, you're not very loud? No, you aren't. But we were kind of listening for not very loud."

"Y - you were listnening?! What! W-why - oh my God, not Courtney, too?" Mitch just sips his orange juice with a smile, and Norman's face turns what is probably beet red, and Mitch can't keep himself from laughing.

~

Mr. Babcock's eyes are unrealistically wide as he watches Norman haul his backpack upstairs, one side of his jacket slipping off of his shoulder, the bruises on his neck starkly visible against his pale skin. When Norman throws his bag onto his bed and begins undressing, he looks at his mirror by chance and sees the gratuitous mark left by Neil, a sense of dread fills him, and at the same time, affection, and when he gets his shirt off, the affection turns to a sort of fury that he promises himself he will embark on Neil the next time he sees him.

~


End file.
